St. Francis Hospital had a very special visitor last week when Moses N'gania came to town. N'gania is the Kenyan Country Director for WMI. He was in town for a CountryDirectors’ meeting, and while in Charleston he accepted a donation of $3,200 raised by Roper St. Francis Women's Infant's and Children's (WIC) department nurses and other personnel. The money will go to continue construction on Plateau Mission Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.
 
N'gania's visit is bringing a relationship between St. Francis Hospital and Plateau Mission full circle. Earlier this year, Roper St. Francis Healthcare employees successfully raised more than $33,000 to bring clean, safe water, or "maji safi" as it's called in their native language, to the Plateau Mission Hospital and its surrounding community in Kenya. By raising this money, Roper St. Francis was able to fund a Living Water Treatment System and surface pump (through Water Missions International) for the Plateau Mission community.

In early May, three Roper St. Francis Healthcare employees traveled to Kenya to take part in a special commissioning ceremony for the Living Water Treatment System. During this trip it became clear that this was not the end of this project, but the beginning of an ongoing relationship with the people of the Plateau Mission community. Seeing the state of the mission hospital, and especially its maternity ward, St. Francis' ambassadors returned to Charleston with a new mission-to raise money to update and complete construction on the hospital.
 
"Their OB unit was unbelievable," says Laura Celia, director of Women's Services for Roper St. Francis who traveled to Kenya in May. They didn't have indoor plumbing, and only three beds in the ward, with one maternity bed. "They wanted to renovate, and said it would cost about $695. We figured we could raise that with one bake sale. We wanted to do more."
 
Celia and others from the Women's Services Department set about raising money. They did hold one bake sale, but most of the money came from employees' personal bank accounts in the form of checks and cash. Within a few months, they had raised $3,200.
 
"This is going to make a great difference in the lives of those who use the hospital,"
N'gania said during the check presentation in the lobby of St. Francis' maternity ward on Dec. 10. "It gives me a sense of profound respect for the generosity of the hearts of Charleston, and especially this hospital. It shows me the caring of the people here. It's gone global. This is thousands of miles from here, but these people felt like they had to do it."
 
Allen Carroll, CEO of Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital said he has been following the fundraising efforts since they began. "This endeavor is legend in our health system," he said. "This is a great example of the old saying 'through giving, you get more.'"